No. 4 Illinois Holds Off Iowa, 4-3

Men's Tennis March 6, 2011

No. 4 Illinois Holds Off Iowa, 4-3

March 6, 2011

IOWA CITY, Iowa - In a match that went down to the wire, the fourth-ranked Illini men's tennis team (9-4, 1-0 Big Ten) avoided the upset Sunday afternoon in their Big Ten Opener with a 4-3 come-from-behind win at Iowa (4-4, 0-1). Senior Abe Souza clinched the victory with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 defeat of Will Vasos for his third straight win and 16th overall.

"The seniors did a great job once again with their leadership and set the tone for the match," head coach Brad Dancer said. "Abe had some hiccups in his match, but down the stretch he was able to get it together. We have a ton of respect for Vasos, he's a great player. Doubles continues to be an issue. I felt we lost some of the mental composure we had before. We need everyone playing hard on all six courts or we won't have the kind of success we want to have."

After securing wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles to take the early advantage, Iowa extended its lead to 2-0, before sophomore Stephen Hoh got the Illini on the board with a straight sets victory over Austen Kauss, 6-3, 6-3. Senior Connor Roth rallied back to even the score, topping Jonas Dierckz, 0-6, 6-2, 6-2, but the Hawkeyes responded with a win at the No. 5 spot to take a 3-2 advantage.

With two matches remaining, senior No. 62 Johnny Hamui and No. 65 Souza each buckled down and held off their respective opponents, with Hamui sweeping Marc Bruche, 6-2, 7-6, to set up Souza's match-clinching victory.

Illinois returns to non-conference play next week, beginning with No. 24 Notre Dame on Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT.

Match Results
#4 Illinois 4, #73 Iowa 3

Singles competition
1. #62 Johnny Hamui (ILL) def. Marc Bruche (IOWA) 6-2, 7-6
2. Nikita Zotov (IOWA) def. Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) 6-4, 6-2
3. #65 Abe Souza (ILL) def. Will Vasos (IOWA) 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
4. Stephen Hoh (ILL) def. Austen Kauss (IOWA) 6-3, 6-3
5. Garret Dunn (IOWA) def. Bruno Abdelnour (ILL) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
6. Connor Roth (ILL) def. Jonas Dierckx (IOWA) 0-6, 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Will Vasos/Marc Bruche (IOWA) def. Stephen Hoh/Connor Roth (ILL) 8-6
2. Jonas Dierckx/Austen Kauss (IOWA) def. Roy Kalmanovich/Abe Souza (ILL) 8-6
3. Brian Alden/Johnny Hamui (ILL) def. Garret Dunn/Tom Mroziewicz (IOWA) 8-5